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Commonwealth Transportation Company
UNDER CONSTRUCTION The Commonwealth Transportation Company, doing business as Comtrac, is a railroad corporation in Rutania, operating intercity passenger rail service to 60 destination. Founded in 3370 with the passage of a law creating a national train operating company (TOC), Comtrac provides rail service with more than 100 trains which operate at speeds of 180 MPH. Despite generating revenue every year, the company has posted a net loss for most of its history and relied on government subsidies to stay afloat until it was privatized in 3802. The name "Comtrac" is a portmanteau of 'COM'monwealth 'TRA'nsportation 'C'ompany. =History= The Commonwealth Transportation Company was officially began operations on May 1, 3370 as the sole passenger railroad in Rutania after many years of not having an established government owned company. The corporation was molded from the 8 major railroads in operation at the time. The railroads contributed rolling stock, equipment, capital, and crews. In return, they received approval to discontinue their passenger services and were each paid 50 million RUT by the government. Comtrac received no rail tracks or right-of-way at its inception and to this day, the right-of ways are owned by the freight railroad companies. The 34th through the early 36th century was a grim time for Comtrac as they faced competition from the airline industry (which was large at the time) and the Inter-Regional Highway Network. The creation of the highway system and the subsequent law change that allowed private company's to operate TOCs along side Comtrac led to a sharp decline in passenger numbers and the removal of several routes. The over saturation of the airline industry eventually led to mergers and coupled with the sky high airline prices, many were forced to return to rail service, leading the company to restart the lines they had once cancelled. The company acquired most of the right-of-way and facilities of the West Coast Corridor from Port Seaborg to Mirigodon and the Mid Valley Corridor from Vanderburg to Meinzar in 3520 after the railroad that owned them went bankrupt and the two corridors were renamed the M.V.P. Corridor and Valley-to-Sea Corridor, respectively the following year. Beginning in the late 3500s, several of its lightly-traveled lines were removed as ridership stagnated at roughly 3 million passengers per year amid uncertain government aid from 3581 to about 3600. During the first decade of the 37th century, ridership improved after the implementation of capital improvements in the M.V.P. Corridor and rises in automobile fuel costs. High Speed Rail (HSR) was finally introduced on the M.V.P. and Valley-to-Sea Corridors in 3631 after the government began a massive infrastructure investment in mass transit lines. In 3701, the company began to replace its aging fleet on the Valley-to-Sea Corridor and begun to work on the M.V.P. Corridor 3 years latter. On October 1, 3752, Comtrac officially became an independent agency with the passage of The Independent Agency Acthttp://classic.particracy.net/viewbill.php?billid=420662. The autonomy allows for little oversight and regulation from the government, although it still receives a large amount of funding. On August 24, 3760, the government announced the Ministry of Transportation would no longer regulate ticket prices or give freight rail companies incentives to allow preferential scheduling. In 3802, a bill dubbed Railway Reformhttp://classic.particracy.net/viewbill.php?billid=428886 was passed by the Parliament officially privatizing the company and removing it from the guise as an independent agency. Privatization means it will no longer receive subsidies from the government and will be eligible to be placed on the Port Nelson Stock Exchange, a move which will occur with the release of an initial IPO in 3807. =Operations and Services= Comtrac is headquartered in the Old City Station in Vanderburg. The headquarters is located inside of the station with a total of 4,300 employees employed at the complex. Comtac also owns three rail yards throughout Rutania which officially house and work on trains only owned by the company. Per passenger mile, Comtrac is 30–40 percent more energy-efficient than commercial airlines and automobiles, though the exact figures for particular routes depend on load factor along with other variables. The HSR trains along the MVP Corridor are considerably more efficient than the electric trains which run on the normal tracks. Passenger rail is also very competitive with other modes in terms of safety per mile with only 3 accidents in the companies history. Leadership While it was an Independent Agency, Comtrac was led by a CEO who was nominated by the President and served at the pleasure of him/her with no term limits. While as an independent agency, the position was very stable and only two people served in the capacity, despite the turnover at the office of the President. As an private company, it is still led by a CEO, but now has a Board of Directors as well to oversee the company. The Board is comprised of the Chairman, the CEO, CFO, Shareholder Representative and three "outside" representatives; the shareholders elect the Board of Directors and serve at their pleasure. The CEO runs the day to day operations of the company and is the most powerful person at the company. The Chairman is a non-executive positions and schedules board meetings and reviews the CEO's performance. The CFO is the top financial position at the company and the Shareholder Representative represents the interest of the shareholders. The three outside representatives are members of the community with a vested interest in the company and have no executive power. CEO *Bernhard Keller (3755-3767) *Marin Arslan (3767-3802) *Lawrence Roby (3802-3805) *Josef Polenz (3805-present) Board of Directors *Josef Polenz (CEO) *Nancy Ford (Chairman) *Maria Anderson (CFO) *Franz Ludwig (Shareholder Rep.) *Aaron Davis *James Lohmann *Erik Pederson Competitors The primary competitor of the company is ExpressRail which is the largest railroad in the country. =Routes= Due to the extensive usage of freight railroad in Rutania, the railroad tracks are mostly owned and operated by them after laws were passed to allow private TOCs to compete with Comtrac. Because of this, passenger trains must often yield to freight trains traveling the same routes and that often leads to delays. However, a plan to construct a HSR system that would incorporate existing infrastructure and utilize new ROWs is being floated by the government. Comtrac currently operates 9 total routes with a grand total of 60 destinations across the country. Aside from the M.V.P. and Valley-to-Sea Corridors, Comtrac does not own any tracks and currently has no plans to purchase any right-of-ways in the near future. List of Routes High Speed Rail Comtrac currently operates two routes on HSR lines which are both owned by the company. *M.V.P. Corridor *Valley-to-Sea Corridor Conventional Rail Comtrac currently operates seven routes using conventional rail lines which are owned and operated by several freight railways. * * * * * * * =Finance= Since its inception, Comtrac has operated at a loss and subsisted on government subsidies in order to stay afloat, but that was ended when the company became private. Privatization is expected to save the company close to 20 million RUT a year mainly due to full oversight it now has over purchasing equipment. The biggest drain on the company's budget has been it's aging fleet of trains which cost more to repair each year as the technology continues to age out of usage. Comtrac plans on issuing an IPO in 3807 in order to become a publicly traded company. =Rolling Stock= =Links= Rutania Category:Corporations in Rutania Category:Corporations